War and war's remembrance:
A dedication for those who know not
What war really is;
Marching up and down America's streets
And streets everywhere to patriotic music
Immortalizing how we killed each other
When all we wanted to do was just go home
Seems obviously improper to some who do.

Innocent people watch as the parade goes by
But bloody hands are everywhere under the sky.

Those who've never done it go so unnoted.
Better that there be a Kindness Day for them,
But who would stick out their chest and march for that?
Who would get up on a holiday and beat that drum?
Who would grab a lawn chair at 8:00 a.m.
And head down to Main Street to be sure
To have a great spot as that parade goes by?
Oh look, here comes little Johnny, he's nice to his sister.
Here comes Mr. and Mrs. Arno who were married for 60
Years and lived lives of faith and forgiveness.
Here comes that grocery clerk at the supermarket
Who always smiled. And ... look, look!
There's the old teacher everyone loved.
But today, all over, the other drum beats
For medals of war on soldiers sent to fight
Who wanted to just go home.

Those dead lie still and yonder ...
That Day, again, to ponder.

05/26/2008

Posted on 05/26/2008
Copyright © 2026 W. Mahlon Purdin